A prototype from Wistron dubbed the PBook has been spotted at CTIA. We recently reported on the Wistron ‘FirstBook’ that was spotted at MWC earlier this year. It seems that the device has undergone a name change since then as the PBook looks like exactly the same device. It has a form-factor similar to that of the Sony Vaio P and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform.

This particular unit had a red lid, housing a 12-inch display and a full-sized keyboard. Laptop Mag reports that it was running a 1GHz CPU with battery life lasting between 8 to 10 hours. Interestingly, it also features hardware accelerated 3D graphics from ATi. There is also an optical mouse besides two mouse buttons.

As with most ARM-based processors, the unit is designed for 24/7 wireless connectivity via mobile broadband, WiFi and Bluetooth. Given that ARM-processors cannot use Windows XP/Vista, you are limited to Linux, however the icon-based user interface seemed fairly intuitive. Apparently the PBook will also support Android and Windows Mobile in the future.

Wistron expects that we could see this unique netbook appear on retail shelves by the third quarter this year. In the meantime, we know that a Wistron netbook with Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU is due to appear at Computex Taipei in June, so hopefully there will be further details then. Click though for a full PBook photo gallery.

Comments

This is really cool! If it has an external monitor jack, it might be my next home computer! I don’t need Microsoft’s stupid toys at home, with access to google docs and other online and local linux apps, I’ll ditch the intel / windows cartel for good!

Richard Chapman said:April 5th, 2009 8:15 PM

“Given that ARM-processors cannot use Windows XP/Vista, you are limited to Linux”

Since when does a processor maker design the processor to software specifications? “ARM processors cannot use Windows XP/Vista”? It’s the other way around. Windows XP/Vista are not able to run on ARM processors. Therefore, Microsoft has, for now at least, ceded ARM processor netbooks to Linux, not, “you are limited to Linux”.

I smelled a rat when I saw the name of this site “netbookchoice”. The work “choice” is a dead give-away for Microsoft influence. I don’t ever expect to see a truly good word toward Linux printed on this site.

It is a question of semantics more than anything. Yes, it is indeed Microsoft who will decide whether or not it ‘ports’ Windows to ARM, but right now it is not something they are doing. Therefore, unless Microsoft change their mind, as a consumer you are limited to Linux (including variants like Android) as well as Windows CE.

Also, I have no idea why you think we would be biased towards Windows? We are very excited about the new ARM-based netbooks that are due this year, as well as the arrival of Android and other Linux projects such as JoliCloud, gOS etc. As for the naming of our site, I think somebody is wearing his conspiracy hat a bit too tightly.

Richard Chapman said:April 5th, 2009 11:59 PM

About my hat. It’s been knocked off too many times. Sure, there most likely is nothing to “choice” in your site’s name. But “choice” is one of the words Microsoft has managed to twist into something else. It means Microsoft. As in, “we believe people should have the right to choose”, when they attempt to thwart some legislation. Competition is another word. For Microsoft to compete means to effectively eliminate the competition.

So alarms went off when I saw “netbookchoice”. After a quick scan I saw that sentence about ARM not being compatible with Windows (essentially). That was all I needed.

Anyway, good luck with your new endeavor here. Just a word of caution. I’m a moderate Linux user. There are more of us than most people realize and we are very active in the welfare of our beloved operating system. Many Windows users, whether, they admit it or not, are getting defensive of their only experience with an operating system. Keeping the two factions from flaming you over transgressions real or imagined will take much care.

Thanks Richard. We are not biased towards one platform or the other and the same goes for the netbook vendors. As you said, trying to articulate this going forward will be a constant challenge. Hopefully though, in the articles we have already written and the ones to come, that view will come through. That is not to say we won’t criticise where needs be, but if we do we will always try to justify our stance.

Konrad Zielinski said:April 24th, 2009 3:52 AM

Very Nice. having a wider, shorter screen would make it feasible to open the thing anywhere.

I found it amusing though that a Device that can’t run windows still has a windows start key on the keyboard.